Raid in Denver
A Raid in Denver was conducted by resigned Maverick agent Raiden against World Marshal HQ after the discovery that Desperado and World Marshal abducted children and placed their brains into cyborgs with the intention of mass-producing Jack the Ripper. Prelude A Maverick investigation in Mexico uncovered a gruesome discovery; Desperado had abducted street kids to harvest their brains. These brains would then be encased and take part in the Sears Program to replicate Solidus Snake's training program in during the Liberian Civil War. The brains would then be shipped to World Marshal's HQ in Denver, Colorado to complete their VR training, so that upon completion the children would become cybernetic soldiers for the upcoming "war on terror." Because World Marshal had a huge influence over the United States military, economy and media, Maverick could not take legal or direct action against them. Knowing this, Raiden abruptly resigned from Maverick and traveled to Denver to rescue the brains inside World Marshal. Mile High Defeating the police Raiden and Blade Wolf entered Denver by car. Receiving a call from George, Raiden was glad to see that the boy was well but cannot take him on his raid on World Marshal. As Raiden thought about his momentary lapse into his split persona in Mexico, he was suddenly pursued by the Denver police. During this time, Boris called in and demanded an explanation for Raiden's abrupt resignation, leading to an argument that Raiden briefly had to put on hold due to an incoming roadblock. The chase also resulted in the stopping of at least one car and destruction of a fire hydrant, causing one of the passengers to curse at Raiden. Eventually the car was destroyed by an RPG fired by one of the cyborg police, flipping the car along with the occupants over a police barricade (with Raiden deliberately driving head-on toward the RPG beforehand). While Blade Wolf scouted ahead, Raiden eliminated the cyborg police officers, including their commander, Zachary. Afterwards, Blade Wolf heeded Raiden to follow him through to a building, though not before Raiden had to defeat two Grad UGs and more officers by the entrance. When Raiden entered the building, Boris contacted him by Codec asking if he really had to do this. Raiden responded that PMCs should bend the law to save innocent lives instead of when it suits business, and that he does not want World Marshal to train the kids to become child soldiers or "Jack the Rippers." Boris decided to unofficially support Raiden but increased their Codec encryption so as to not allow other parties to learn of Maverick's involvement. After defeating more cyborgs and UGs, Blade Wolf advised Raiden to head to the rooftops to avoid minimal fighting. Skirmishes above and below While in an elevator, Doktor contacted Raiden telling that the brains from Mexico are safe in his care and that he hired contractors to help transport the brains out of World Marshal HQ. Doktor would also help out Raiden in his helicopter to monitor World Marshal's (very poor) security procedures as well as Raiden's personal safety. After fighting more cyborgs and saving a civilian from being executed, Raiden came towards the elevator with Blade Wolf informing him that he was unable to proceed further via the rooftops. Raiden took the fast route down via the elevator to an abandoned underground railway. After sneaking through the rail tunnels past the Mastiff UGs patrolling the tunnels, Raiden returned to the surface and followed Blade Wolf's markers to World Marshal. Taking a shortcut via the stairs to the PMC HQ and fighting his way through, he is confronted by holographic images of Jetstream Sam. Raiden unsettled: what do I fight for Sam asked if Raiden's way of fighting Desperado was the right thing to do to. Raiden responded that he protects the weak from people like Desperado. His rival points out while the enemy cyborgs knew what they signed up for, they did so of their own free will so as to provide for their family. To psychologically weaken Raiden, Sam turned off the emotion-suppressed nanomachines for Raiden to hear the inner thoughts of despairing cyborgs as two cyborg police officers arrived to kill Raiden. Raiden went on the defensive, unable to counter as he listened until they managed to hit him. Raiden fought back to end their thoughts and ultimately killed them. Seeing him unsettled, Blade Wolf met up with him and revealed his affiliation with Sam. Wolf advised Raiden to avoid combat while he went ahead to scout World Marshal HQ. Avoiding the cyborgs, Raiden approached the vicinity of World Marshal HQ. At the main entrance he tried to fend off three Desperado cyborgs as he listened to their inner thoughts. Sam later arrived in person, reiterating that Raiden's cause is not so black-and-white as it initially seemed. The Stains of Time: Monsoon vs. Jack the Ripper As Raiden collapsed from mental exhaustion, another voice joins the conversation, revealed to be Monsoon - another member of the Winds of Destruction. Monsoon explained his philosophy of "kill or be killed" from his days in the Khmer Rogue regime in Cambodia, to justify his methods of setting up the cyborgs as human shields, with war as a cruel parent. Monsoon also explained war as a meme, also using Raiden's belief that his sword was a tool as another example of an "exquisite" meme. Up to this point Raiden had this belief to keep his split persona "in check" but knowing that he was just born to kill, he pronounced that "Jack was back." Monsoon initially thought he lost his mind and ordered the three cyborgs to kill Raiden. Ordering Doktor to turn off his pain inhibitors, Raiden unleashed his "Ripper" mode and easily sliced the three cyborgs in half. Raiden immediately asked who would be next - Monsoon or Sam. Sam opted to fight but Monsoon ordered him to report to "the chief". Sam left, leaving Monsoon and Jack the Ripper to get acquainted. Monsoon's ability to split his body and ninjutsu techniques for confusion did cause some trouble for Raiden. At times, Monsoon used his sai weapons to magnetically lift armored vehicles into the air and hurl them at Raiden, forcing him to use Blade Mode to cut down the heavy objects. Monsoon even spun a large group of vehicles and UGs to crush Raiden. Eventually, Monsoon levitated World Marshal's obelisk statue in an attempt to put Raiden under. Instead, Raiden jumped onto the obelisk, ran its length and jumped up once more to kick Monsoon halfway through into the building. With Monsoon trapped, Raiden cut him down and sliced his head off Monsoon's destroyed body. Monsoon later called Raiden to relay his last words, passing a meme on to the latter. Raiden regained control of himself, reassuring a cautious and somewhat scared Kevin that he did not want this to happen again. Raiden then proceeded to rescue the brains inside World Marshal. Hostile Takeover Fight in the lobby When Raiden entered the lobby of World Marshal HQ, he was greeted by the voice of Sundowner, who was impressed that he killed Monsoon. He also revealed that the brains were in the server room and told Raiden to come up and "go nuts". Afterwards Raiden fought with some of World Marshal's cyborgs and two Fenrir UGs. He later found the elevators, which Doktor revealed that they were offline as it should have been expected. Blade Wolf offered to hack into the building's data access terminal for Doktor to hack an elevator to work. However Raiden was forced to fend off the cyborgs, Sliders, and Mastiffs storming into the lobby by pilfering RPGs from their wall mounted displays as well commandeering two mounted gatling gun turrets. After some time passed, Doktor managed to hack into an elevator and Raiden hurried inside it before more cyborgs arrived. Alternatively, players could drag the fight out longer, with Raiden eventually having to fight a Grad UG which crashes through the front of the building. This would unlock a secret ranked battle in the level and increase the player's score. Heavy opposition Doktor told Raiden that the elevator could only go as far up to the 20th floor, as all the other floors above it could not be accessed because they were closed to the public. The only way up was to pass through a high security door which even cyborgs with security clearances could not pass through. Instead of finding another left hand, Raiden had to find and destroy three electrical panels scattered around the offices on the 20th floor. As he did so he also had to eliminate the patrolling cyborgs and Raptor reinforcements. After eliminating the last electrical panel and a hammer-wielding cyborg at the high-security door, Raiden entered a new area and firmly told Doktor to not activate his pain inhibitors, believing he could control his inner "Jack the Ripper" persona and mitigate any wanton carnage it would otherwise cause. Raiden was immediately greeted with a large number of cyborgs in the room as well as Sliders attacking through the windows. At Boris's suggestion, Raiden instead ran past the opposition through the hallways, jumping or sliding over falling debris, evading gunfire and even climbed a couple of floors after the ceilings collapsed. Eventually his way through was blocked by a Grad UG and fought with it. After destroying it, Raiden utilized the sliders outside as aerial platforms to climb upwards, destroying them before gaining a foothold on the side of the building and sprinting up the side of the HQ, dodging missiles fired from Hammerheads and rooftop snipers and falling debris. Eventually he leapt into a hole blasted in the wall before it was closed off by falling debris, now higher up than Blade Wolf in a short space of time, with the latter having "fallen behind." Elevator fights Although getting closer to the server room, Raiden still had some ways to go. After passing through a Japanese-style garden inside the building and evading the patrolling cyborgs, Blade Wolf called to reconfirm Raiden's motives for saving the brains. Despite Raiden's split persona and his actions, Blade Wolf continued to help him in his endeavor. Doktor also told him the only way to the server room is to take a freight platform. After eliminating the guards, Raiden proceeded upwards on the platform. However more cyborgs and UGs accosted him. At some point, another freight platform was going up but at a slower speed. Two cyborgs destroyed the fuel tank with RPGs, meaning the platform Raiden was on would soon crumble. Raiden eliminated the RPG cyborgs as well as the Dwarf Gekko that were attempting to slow down the crumbling platform. He managed to get onto the second platform before the crumbling one gave way. After defeating the last of the cyborg and Mastiff guards at the top floor, Raiden proceeded to the server room. However there was one more room before it. Raiden entered that room before encountering, to his initial shock, what appeared to be a very much alive Mistral. However it turned out to be a body double who fought using Mistral's tactics but was AI controlled, meaning that Raiden would have an easier time to destroy it. He also defeated a body double of Monsoon after Mistral's doppelganger was destroyed. Looking at this scenario as a player, one could assume that this was an attempt by the developers to incorporate a mid-story boss rush. Red Sun: The Californian Wildfire vs. The Child Soldier Raiden finally entered the server room, and was immediately confronted by Sundowner. He explained how the Sears Program was being transferred straight to the children's brains through VR, instead of the on-field training they would otherwise had to undergo, and how kids can be molded to fight wars as soldiers. Sundowner also viewed that the Patriots only managed the war economy instead of inventing it but none of this would matter in three hours where an event would occur that would rival the September 11 attacks. Rather than fight right there and risk "damaging the merchandise", Sundowner led Raiden to World Marshal's heliport on the roof and proceeded to start their fight. Raiden then attempted to ask him what is to happen in three hours, but Sundowner dismissed the question as irrelevant, as Raiden was too late to stop it, and that even if Raiden were to beat him in battle, the event could not be stopped as even at Mach 2 speeds, Raiden would never make it in time to do so, and made clear that he intends to give Raiden a slow and painful defeat before then. In addition to his Bloodlust weapon, he also had a set of six shields which would explode upon impact with Raiden's sword and cause him injury. Nevertheless Raiden managed to disarm Sundowner from his shields via wrenching or slicing them apart and then lopping of the arms that attached them to Sundowner's body. Sundowner was then forced to take the offensive which included: combining his two "Bloodlust" blades into their pincer form, "acquiring" a heavy floodlight pole for use as a bludgeoning weapon, and calling multiple Hammerhead choppers to fire repeated volleys at Raiden. Eventually Raiden bested Sundowner, but instead of falling off the heliport, the latter hung on to another Hammerhead just below and fired missiles at Raiden, forcing him off the roof and sending him falling back down to the city streets. However Raiden spotted a Slider and took control of it by impaling its "brain" with his sword. Steering it back into the HQ building, Raiden flew upwards back towards the roof and while avoiding loose debris and structural obstacles. After slicing through the ceiling, he burst through the roof and flew towards Sundowner. He fired three more missiles at Raiden but ended up missing. Raiden then flung the Slider at the Hammerhead and caused it to explode, much to Sundowner's surprise. Sundowner fell away from the blast and into Raiden's blade to be hacked to bits. With that, Sundowner was slain and the Winds of Destruction were blown away. In a Codec communication, Sundowner congratulated Raiden for killing him and informed him that in three hours, Senator Armstrong would launch Operation Tecumseh to create a world where PMC's would once again be in high demand. Sundowner also contacted Sam telling him that he would "get (his) wish" to fight Raiden in a one on one duel. Sundowner's body self destructed after this, with Raiden contacting his one time support staff from Maverick. After Raiden told Doktor that World Marshal HQ was secure to pick up the brains, he discussed with Boris and Kevin where Tecumseh would take place since Raiden could not prevent it, even if he moved at speeds of Mach 2. Deducing that it would not be happening on U.S. soil, Raiden realized that it would likely happen in Pakistan, where U.S. President Hamilton was due to land for talks with Pakistani leader Farooq Salaam. The assassination of Hamilton in an unstable region like Pakistan would trigger a second war on terror and reignite the war economy. Courtney later suggested an RLV craft, one that could reach Mach 23 speeds if it was travelling in the exosphere and would make it to Pakistan in under half an hour. Deciding that this was the best course of action, Raiden got Boris to contact Solis Space & Aeronautics while he worked with Doktor to retrieve the brains from the server room. Escape from Denver Dogfight over the city With Monsoon and Sundowner dead, and World Marshal open for Doktor to collect the brains and get them to safety, Raiden's mission in Denver was done. However he needed to escape and get to Solis' launch base. When Doktor picked up Raiden via helicopter they were then pursued by two unmanned MQ-320s sent from Peterson Air Force Base. Raiden and Doktor worked together to destroy them but when Raiden attempted to get back to the helicopter, he fell back down to Denver. Doktor was forced to flee from World Marshal cyborgs firing anti-air missiles and assumed Raiden had died. Moving out Raiden had in fact survived and Boris contacted him and told him to escape Denver. At that moment World Marshal cyborgs came to try and kill Raiden but Raiden defeated them with little effort. Doktor then contacted Raiden with the latter informing him he will find transport to get to Solis. After stealthily avoiding three Gekko UGs he was ambushed by more World Marshal cyborgs with Raiden killing them all. After avoiding a Gekko patrol along with a multitude of Dwarf Gekkos and destroying two Raptors, Raiden continued his escape. Boris then contacted Raiden and told him of a route with minimal security and added it to Raiden's Soliton Radar. After killing three cyborgs and destroying a Grad (saving an ungrateful civilian in the process), Raiden was then contacted by Blade Wolf, who was with Doktor on the helicopter and said that it would meet Raiden at Solis. After killing a Mastiff and World Marshal cyborgs Raiden noticed an enemy cyborg on his Soliton Radar coming out of a building. After killing the cyborg, Raiden investigated further to only be ambushed by three Mastiffs. Although startled by the ambush Raiden managed to destroy them before escaping. Once Raiden has got past the barrier Boris contacted Raiden and asked him if he has escaped the enemy cyborgs, with Raiden confirming he had. At that moment Raiden saw a motorbike which he commandeered but not before carving a message on the pavement: "I need your bike. Thank you for your cooperation" with Raiden unaware that the bike belonged to Sam. Duel at the Badlands: The Cool Brazilian Wind vs. The Hot Blooded Killer Two hours later, Raiden made his way to Solis. Doktor informed him that he managed to escape from Colorado airspace and World Marshal cyborgs. Raiden stops when he sees Sam and Blade Wolf in the middle of the road, when Blade Wolf returns to Raiden he tells him he has "analyzed Sam's words and action to find out his motivation to no avail". Raiden "thanks" Sam for not murdering everyone at Solis. Sam replies saying that the results of the war are the payoff, with Raiden assuming that the issue is money and profits for World Marshal. Sam retorts that the real issue is a matter of ideals, and decides to "let history decide who is right." Raiden, knowing he means the victor of the duel, motions to the side of the road. Raiden gets off of Sam's bike, although Sam, probably not caring, doesn't say anything. As they walk to the place of battle, Raiden said that he did not care who was right or wrong, and that it only mattered that he had a reason to kill Sam. Sam only responded with a satisfactory laugh. Blade Wolf questioned their reason for fighting, and noticed that there were also various cyborg-related medical supplies nearby, in large part because of a World Marshal chopper crashing earlier. After a short but intense duel, Raiden managed to leave Sam open to an attack and stabs him through the gut, much like he would do to Senator Armstrong later. Sam then fell to his knees, laughed at his defeat, and winked at Blade Wolf just before he succumbed to his injury. Looking at the gash in his torso, Raiden noticed that Sam barely had cyborg enhancements, with Blade Wolf questioning the necessity of Sam's death. Blade Wolf was forced to accept that there was no logical reason for Raiden to kill Sam. Raiden responded by telling him to "figure it out" on his own. Sam's high-frequency blade was ID locked and thus, Raiden was unable to use it to its full potential (i.e. he could unsheathe the sword, but he was unable to activate the part that made the blade vibrate at a high frequency, which gave it its cutting power). After Raiden respectfully wiped the blood off the blade and sheathed it, Blade Wolf retained it in Sam's memory. Boris then reminded Raiden that they only have less than one hour, so Raiden and Blade Wolf made their way to Solis. Category:Events Category:Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance